Under Cover of Darkness cover art

Under Cover of Darkness

Murders in Blackout London

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Under Cover of Darkness

By: Amy Helen Bell
Narrated by: Gemma Dawson
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About this listen

A gripping new history of London during the Blackout—revealing the violent crime that spread across the capital under the cover of darkness

Fear was the unacknowledged specter haunting the streets of London during the Second World War; fear not only of death from the German bombers circling above, but of violence at the hands of fellow Londoners in the streets below. Mass displacement, the anonymity of shelters, and the bomb-scarred landscape offered unprecedented opportunities for violent crime.

In this absorbing, sometimes shocking account, Amy Helen Bell uncovers the hidden stories of murder and violence that were rife in wartime London. Bell moves through the city, examining the crimes in their various locations, from domestic violence in the home to robberies in the blacked-out streets and fights in pubs and clubs. She reveals the experiences of women, children, and the elderly, and focuses on the lives of the victims, as well as their deaths.

This groundbreaking study transforms our understanding of the ways in which war made people vulnerable—not just to the enemy, but to each other.

©2024 Amy Helen Bell (P)2025 Tantor Media
Crime Europe Great Britain Murder True Crime England Inspiring
All stars
Most relevant  
The book is fascinating, but the audio version is ruined by a bad narrator. Is it an AI voice?

Good book, bad narrator

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Well researched but sadly let down by American pronunciation. We say Eve-alyn not Ev-alyn. Bernard is Ber-nd, not Ber-nard. We don’t have Lootenants and Aloysius is not pronounced as seen! Violette Szabo was half French so her name isn’t Violette as in violin…..
Since it is book about wartime London I found it intensely irritating! Other than that it’s pretty good- some well-known cases, and many I’d not heard about.

Narration irritating.

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It’s not a crime investigation it’s more like a lecture someone standing at a podium telling us lesser mortals what we should know incredibly dull

Boring

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